ELECTION RESULTS (September–December 2017)

Argentina: Midterm legislative elections were held on October 22. Of the 127 seats up for reelection in the 257-seat Chamber of Deputies, the governing Cambiemos coalition of President Mauricio Macri won 61 seats (elevating its total representation to 109). The newly formed Citizen's Unity coalition led by former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner won 28 seats. The Justicialist Party, from which Kirchner had defected, won 18 seats. Ten smaller parties split the remaining seats. In elections for 24 of the 72 seats in the Senate, Cambiemos won 12; Citizen's Unity, 6; the Justicialist Party, 4; and the Front for Renewal of Concord, 2.

Chile: In the November 19 presidential election, none of the candidates obtained an outright majority, setting up a runoff scheduled for December 17. Former president Sebastián Piñera of the Chile Vamos coalition won 36.6 percent of the vote; Alejandro Guillier of the New Majority coalition (founded by incumbent president Michelle Bachelet), 22.7 percent; and Beatriz Sánchez of the newly formed Broad Front coalition, 20.3 percent. Five other candidates won less than 8 percent each. Elections were held concurrently for 23 seats in the 43-seat Senate and all seats in the 155-seat Chamber of Deputies. In the Senate, Chile Vamos won 12 seats; New Majority, 7; Democratic Convergence, 3; and Broad Front, 1. In the Chamber of Deputies, Chile Vamos won 72 seats; New Majority, 43; Broad Front, 20, and Democratic Convergence, 14. Candidates from smaller parties and one independent split the remaining seats. Results from the runoff between Piñera and Guillier will be reported in a future issue.

Czech Republic: In October 20–21 elections for the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies, the ANO movement led by Andrej Babiš won 29.6 percent of [End Page 176] the vote and 78 seats. The Civic Democratic Party won 11.3 percent and 25 seats; the Czech Pirate Party, 10.8 percent and 22 seats; and the newly formed far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy, 10.6 percent and 22 seats. The governing Czech Social Democratic Party won only 7.3 percent and 15 seats, down from 20.5 percent and 50 seats in 2013. Smaller parties and independent candidates split the remaining seats.

Honduras: In the November 26 presidential election, results from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported that incumbent president Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party won 42.9 percent of the vote; opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla of the Alliance Against Dictatorship, 41.4 percent; and Luis Orlando Zelaya of the Liberal Party, 14.7 percent. Domestic and international election observers reported significant irregularities in the Tribunal's tabulation of the ballots, and on December 8, Nasralla challenged the results before the Electoral Court. The election follows a 2015 Constitutional Court ruling that nullified a ban on presidential reelection. The Tribunal must declare a winner by December 26; the outcome will be reported in a future issue. In concurrent elections for the 128-seat National Congress, the National Party won 61 seats; Liberty and Refoundation, 30; and the Liberal Party, 26. Candidates from smaller parties split the remaining seats.

Kenya: In an August 8 vote, incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party won 54 percent, defeating opposition candidate Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, who won 44.9 percent. On September 1, however, the Supreme Court invalidated the results, finding irregularities in the conduct of the vote, and a fresh election was scheduled for October 26. Then, on October 10, Odinga announced his withdrawal and urged an opposition boycott, citing the failure of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to implement "changes to its operations and personnel" to assure a credible rerun. In the October 26 election, Kenyatta won more than 98 percent of the vote, while Odinga, who did not submit withdrawal paperwork to have his name removed from the ballot, won less than 1 percent. Following the vote, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed two petitions contesting the results, paving the way for Kenyatta's inauguration on November 28.

Kyrgyzstan: In the October 15 presidential election, Sooronbay Jeenbekov of the ruling Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan won 54.7 percent of the vote, defeating Omurbek Babanov, who won 33.5 percent. Nine other candidates split the remaining votes. Incumbent president Almazbek Atambayev was constitutionally barred from seeking a second six-year term. Observers with the Organization for Security and [End Page 177] Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commended the competitive nature of the election, but expressed concern over vote buying and restrictions on media freedom.

Liberia: In the October 10 presidential election, none of the candidates secured an absolute majority, setting up a runoff. In the first round, George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change won 38.4 percent; Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party, 28.8 percent; and Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party, 9.6 percent. Following the election, Boakai and Brumskine challenged the results before the Supreme Court, alleging fraud in the conduct of the vote. In a December 7 ruling, the Supreme Court dismissed the complaint, finding that "irregularities, fraud, and violations" in the first round did not warrant a rerun. Credible international, regional, and Liberian observer groups have expressed confidence in the vote. In concurrent elections for the 73-seat House of Representatives, the Coalition for Democratic Change won 21 seats; the Unity Party, 19; the People's Unification Party, 5; and the Liberty Party, 3. Candidates from smaller parties and independents split the remaining seats. Results from the runoff scheduled for December 26 will be reported in a future issue.

Nepal: Elections for the 275-seat House of Representatives were held on November 26 and December 7; results will be reported in a future issue.

Slovenia: In the November 12 presidential runoff, incumbent president Borut Pahor secured a second term in office, winning 52.9 percent of the vote and defeating Marjan Šarec of the List of Marjan Šarec, who won 47 percent. In the October 22 first-round vote, Pahor won 47.2 percent; Šarec, 24.8 percent; and Romana Tomc of the Slovenian Democratic Party, 13.7 percent. Six other candidates split the remaining votes.

UPCOMING ELECTIONS (January–December 2018)

Azerbaijan: presidential, by October 2018

Bangladesh: parliamentary, by December 2018

Bosnia-Herzegovina: presidential/legislative, October 2018

Brazil: presidential/legislative, 7 October 2018

Cambodia: parliamentary, 29 July 2018

Cameroon: presidential, by October 2018 [End Page 178]

Colombia: legislative, 11 March 2018; presidential, 27 May 2018

Costa Rica: presidential/legislative, 4 February 2018

Democratic Republic of Congo: presidential/legislative, by December 2018

El Salvador: legislative, by March 2018

Gabon: parliamentary, by April 2018

Georgia: presidential, by December 2018

Hungary: parliamentary, by May 2018

Latvia: parliamentary, by October 2018

Lebanon: parliamentary, 6 May 2018

Malaysia: parliamentary, by August 2018

Mali: presidential/legislative, by December 2018

Mexico: presidential/legislative, 1 July 2018

Moldova: parliamentary, by November 2018

Montenegro: presidential, by April 2018

Pakistan: parliamentary, 3 September 2018

Paraguay: presidential/legislative, by April 2018

Russia: presidential, 18 March 2018

Sierra Leone: presidential/legislative, 7 March 2018

Venezuela: presidential, by December 2018

Zimbabwe: presidential/legislative, by September 2018

Election Watch provides reports of recently decided and upcoming elections in developing nations and the postcommunist world. Some of the data for Election Watch come from IFES, a private, nonprofit education and research foundation that assists in monitoring, supporting, and strengthening the mechanics of the electoral process worldwide. For additional information, visitwww.ifes.org. [End Page 179]

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Additional Information

ISSN

1086-3214

Print ISSN

1045-5736

Pages

176-179

Launched on MUSE

2018-01-12

Open Access

No

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